Packaging device for artificial christmas tree



Aug. 15, 1961 c. P. HANKUS PACKAGING DEVICE FOR ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE Filed Feb. 2, 1959 States Patien 2,996,181 PACKAGING DEVICE FOR ARTIFICIAL CHRIS'IlMAS TREE Chester Peter Hankus, 12346 S. Throop St., Chicago 43, 111., assignor of ten percent to Peter Van 'Beek, Chicago, Ill., ten percent to Theodore Hankus, Calumet Park, 11]., and fifteen percent to Kenneth T. Snow, Wheaten, Ill.

Filed Feb. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 790,441 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) This invention relates to a new and improved packaging device for artificial Christmas trees.

Artificial Christmas trees have been made for many, many years and yet as a general rule the artificial trees have not been truly commercially successful. The reason for this lack of success lay in the lack of storage facilities for the artificial Christmas tree wherein the branches are removable from the trunk and the branches stored in trays, such as shown in applicants co-pending application entitled, Packaging Device, Serial No. 631,110. The present device thus constitutes an improvement in a packaging device for artificial Christmas trees.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a packaging device for all of the separable elements of an artificial Christmas tree.

An important object of this invention is the provision of means in a packaging device for receiving removable branches of an artificial Christmas tree and the branchfree trunk of that artificial Christmas tree.

Another important object of this invention is to supply a carton for the separable branches andtrunk of an artificial Christmas tree and including a tray removable from the carton to carry the branches and the trunk in spaced relationship thereon and the device arranged when the carton is closed to securely hold the tray to the bottom of the carton to thereby avoid damage to the stored components of the artificial Christmas tree. Another and still further important object of this invention is to equip a carton with openable end means, one of which constitutes a door element hinged at the bottom of'the carton and having a top bendable portion whereupon when the hinged door is closed and the top portion bent downwardly it engages a tray of branches and trunks of an artificial tree within the carton and thereupon locks the tray and trunks within the carton.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a carton with a door hinged at one end thereof along the bottom and having a top bendable portion with notches in the top edge thereof whereby when the door is closed and the top portion bent downwardly it engages the top of a removable tray within the carton and the notches engage the trunk part carried on the surface of the tray so that the tray and trunk parts are securely locked to the bottom of the carton as long as the end door remains closed.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to equip a packaging carton for an artificial Christmas tree with means to hold removable branches from the tree and to hold separable trunk parts of the tree in a securely locked position when the carton is closed.

Other and further important objects and advantages will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specifications and accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the artificial tree holding carton of this invention and shown with one end.

.nugated board laminated tray 17.

Patented Aug. 15, 1961 ice FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-'3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of the separable trunk parts of the artificial Christmastree to be packaged.

As shown in the drawing:

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally the carton employed in this packaging device. The carton 10 includes spaced apart side walls 11 and 12, top and bottom 13 and 14, and enclosing ends 15 and 16. As will 'be subsequently described, the ends 15 and 116 meet the openable type, wherein the material to be stored may be inserted through these openable ends. The carton is arranged and constructed to carrya corrugated board laminated tray or the like 17. The tray 17 is adapted to substantially fill the bottom of the carton 10 and is slidably removable therefrom.

As stated in the objects above, the present invention concerns the packaging of an artificial Christmas tree and all its component elements. As explained in my earlier co-pending application Serial No. 631,110, now Patent No. 2,887,220, issued May 19, 1959, the tray 17 is adapted to removably receive the fragile branches 18 of the artificial tree by having the substantially rigid central rods 18a thereof inserted into holes into the cor- The gradations in branch length, as shown in FIGURE 2, providefor the formation of a uniform and symmetrical tree with the shorter branches thereof being used at the top of the tree.

FIGURE 4 shows the trunk 19 of the tree and in this instance it is composed of three parts, 20, 21 and22. These separable parts 20, 21 and 22 are held together by centrally disposed dowel pins or the like 23 and 24 positioned between the elements 20 and 21 and the elements 21 and 22 respectively. It should further be-observed that the tree trunk 19 is equipped with a plurality of drilled holes 25 in a particular arrangement and relationship to receive the branches 18 when the tree is to be set up and displayed. A more specific illustration and showing of the artificial Christmas tree to be packaged herein is shown in my prior co-pending applications for patent on the Artificial Tree, Serial Nos. 627,832 and 773,282.

The openable ends 15 and 16 constitute a very important part of the present invention. It is these end elements that are utilized to lock the removable tray 17 to the bottom of the carton during storage to insure the mainte nance of the .stored branches 18 from being damaged by engagement with other branches or the walls of .the carton. Further, it is the same end elements thatare utilized when in closed position to lock the trunk elements of the artificial tree to be stored within the sameicarton that holds the branches 18. The hinged carton endshold these trunk elements in a locked position-to thereby prevent movement of the trunk in the carton when the carton is put away for storage. For convenience .only. one .of the openable ends 'Will be described in detail. 1

As shown in FIGURE 1, the end116 is provided with a top flap or folding door 26 which ishinged across the top 13 thereof at 27. This top door or'flap26 folds downwardly when in closed position so that it is disposed at right angles to the top 13 as clearly shown iu'FIGURE 2. Similarly a bottom flap or door 28 is' hinged at29 along the bottom 14 thereof. Similarly the bottom flap or door 28 is foldable upwardly about'its' horizontal hinge line 29 across the bottom 14 so thatit partially encloses the end of the carton when in closed'position asshoW-n in FIGURE 2. Still further side flaps 30 and 31 are hinged at the ends of the vertical walls 32 and 3-3 respectively to thereupon constitute the final closure for the end of the carton. When the top and bottom flaps are folded downwardly and upwardly respectively and the side flaps 30 and 31 are folded inwardly over the top thereof the openable closure 16 is closed as in FIG- URE 2.

Now as stated in the objects above it is the purpose of the present invention to securely hold all of the separable tree elements consisting of branches 18 and trunk 20. This is true whether the trunk is in one or a multiple number of parts such as shown in FIGURE 4 at 20, 21 and 22. The branches 18 are preferably disposed in longitudinal rows on the tray 17 and the trunk elements 20, 21 and 22 are arranged between adjacent longitudinal rows of the branches 18 and extend from one end of the carton to the other. This is clearly shown in FIG- URE 2 wherein the trunk element has its top end portion 34 adjacent the openable end 16 and its bottom portion adjacent the openable end portion 15.

The end flap or door 28 having a hinge line 29 with the bottom 14 of the carton constitutes the locking means for both the tray and the trunk parts when the openable end elements are in closed position. This door 28 is provided with a bend line or scoring 36 which is substantially half way up its length. The bend line 36 is disposed horizontally or in other words parallel to the hinge line 29 and parallel with the top of the door 28 shown at 37. Thus when the carton is closed the door element 28 is bent along the bend line 36 so that the top edge thereof 37 is angled downwardly to engagement with the top of the carton 17 as clearly shown in FIGURE 2. Now as long as the enclosing end doors 30 and 31 are held in closed position, the bottom door or gate 28 with its bendable top flap 38 remains securely on the top of the tray 17 and inasmuch as this same construction is repeated at the openable end 15, the tray 17 may not raise vertically with respect to the bottom 14 or in any wise lift off the bottom 14 and thus the fragile branches 18 are safely held within the carton spaced from each other and from the carton during the entire period of storage.

As best shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the top portion 38 of the hinged door 28 is provided with generally V- shaped notches 39, and 41. These notches 39, 40 and 41 are openable to the top edge 37 of the bendable top flap 38 of the door element 28. The V-shaped notches are substantially the width of the diameter of the tree trunk 19 at substantially the center of the depth thereof so that when the flap 38 is bent downwardly for engagement of the top edge 37 with the tray 17 the notches 39, 40 and 41 haul; the trunk elements 20, '21 and 22 respectively and thus securely hold the trunk elements onto the top of the removable tray 17 In the operation of the device of this invention an artificial tree to be stored is dismantled by removing the branches 18 and depositing these branches in longitudinal rows in the removable tray 17 Following the filling of the tray with branches 18 in longitudinal rows the trunk parts are separated into elements 20, 21 and 22 by separating them at the dowel rod joints 23 and 24 and thence sliding these trunk parts 20, 21 and 22 longitudinally onto the tray 17 between adjacent longitudinal rows of branches 18. The trunk part thus is disposed adjacent the bottoms of the branches and are preliminarily held in parallel relationship with each other and with the rows of branches by the bottoms of the branches 18. Following the filling of the tray 17 and the sliding thereof onto the bottom 14 within the carton 10, the end closure members are folded inwardly. First, the hinged gate 28 has its top flap bent along its bend or score line 36 and then the gate is folded upwardly about its hinge 29 so that the top edge 37 of the bendable top 38 engages the top surface of the tray 17 and the notches 39, 40 and 41 therein engage the trunk parts 20, 21 and 22 respectively to snugly and wedgingly hold the trunk elements down against the tray 17 which in turn is held down on the bottom of the carton by the remaining top edge 37 of this hinged door 28. Following the closing of this locking door, the top flap 26 is closed downwardly and the side flaps 30 and 31 are folded inwardly over the outer surfaces of the members 26 and 28 and when these are held closed the tray 17 and the trunk parts are held immovable with respect to the remaining carton so that during storage and handling the artificial tree elements remain undamaged. It should of course be understood that the trunk 19 may be entirely one piece or in as many pieces as desired or necessary. For example, a small tree may need only one trunk element, and in that event only one notch would be provided in the bendable top element 38 of the hinged door 28.

Various details of construction may be changed throughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosed herein and I therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A container for storing removable branches of an artificial tree comprising a carton having top, bottom, sides and ends, at least one of said ends having openable closure means, said openable closure means including a first member hinged along the bottom of said carton and swingable upwardly thereabout to at least partially close said end, a relatively fiat separate tray substantially the same size as the bottom of said carton and slidable within said carton through said end having the openable closure to a position on the bottom thereof, a plurality of tree branches, means holding the tree branches in a substantially vertically disposed position in said tray, said first member hinged to the bottom of said carton having a horizontal bend line spaced upwardly from its hinge to define a top part, said top part bent angularly downwardly for engagement with the upper surface of said tray and against the substantially vertically disposed tree branches adjacent the end of said tray when the openable closure is swung upwardly about its hinge to a carton closing position.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which there is included means holding said first member in folded and closed position.

3. A container for storing an artificial tree in which the branches are removable from the trunk comprising a carton having top, bottom, sides and ends, at least one of said ends having openable closure means, said openable closure means including a first member hinged along the bottom of said carton and swingablc upwardly thereabout to at least partially close said end, a relatively fiat separate slide tray, said slide tray substantially the same size as the bottom of said carton and slidable within said carton on the bottom thereof through the openable closure means of the end of said carton, a plurality of tree branches, means holding the tree branches in a substantially vertically disposed position in said tray, a tree trunk, said tree trunk positionable lengthwise on said tray and extending the full length thereof, said first member hinged to the bottom of said carton having a horizontal bend line spaced upwardly from the hinge and defining a top part, and the top part of said first member having an open notch in its top edge thereof substantially the width and depth of the tree trunk, whereby when the first memher is bent on its bend line and the top part folded downwardly therea'bout it acts to simultaneously hold the tray down against the bottom of the carton and to hold the tree trunk locked to the top of the tray during storage when the openable closure is swung upwardly about its hinge to a carton closing position.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 in which the openable closure means further includes hinged end members to fully enclose said end and hold said first member in closed tray and trunk locking position.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which said device has identical closing means structure at the other end.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which said a plurality of tree branches are arranged in longitudinal rows on said tray and said tree trunk is disposed between two adjacent rows of tree branches.

6 7. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which the trunk References Cited in the file of this patent comprises twoparts both of which are longitudinally ar- UNITED STATES PATENTS ranged on said tray, and sa1d first member has two notches, whereby the bending of said first member on the 2,511,542 June 1950 fold line will effect a holding of the tray on the carton 6 2652921 Foster sept' 1953 bottom and a locking of both trunk parts on the tray by 2,710,094 Rau June 1955 the engagement of the trunk parts by the two notches. 2,758,781 White 1956 

